Crypto - Optimisus

Celsius accused of misleading investors, misappropriating customer funds

2 days ago 1 min read

Celsius faces criticism for allegedly misusing funds, misleading investors in bankruptcy case

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network is facing allegations of misleading its investors and using new customer funds to cover outstanding withdrawals. This comes from an independent examiner appointed by the New York bankruptcy court, Shoba Pillay, a former federal prosecutor and partner at Jenner & Block law firm. Pillay was tasked with investigating the New Jersey-based lender’s operations to determine if it was operating as a Ponzi scheme. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July, with a court filing revealing $2.8 billion in liabilities on its balance sheet. Despite co-founder Alex Mashinsky’s claims that customers’ Bitcoin was 100%

Alameda Research seeks to recover around $446 million in crypto

2 days ago 1 min read

Alameda Research Demands $446M in Crypto from Voyager Following Bankruptcy

Alameda Research is seeking to recover around $446 million in cryptocurrencies that were transferred to lender Voyager Digital before Alameda filed for bankruptcy. Alameda claims that it repaid all of its loans to Voyager, including some that had not yet matured, in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether after Voyager filed for bankruptcy. In the lawsuit, Alameda argues that Voyager’s role in funding Alameda and fueling its alleged misconduct has been largely ignored and claims that it is unclear if Voyager held a valid lien on the collateral it received from Alameda. The company is asking the court to rule that

Gemini crypto exchange probed for misleading users

2 days ago 1 min read

New York Regulators Investigate Gemini Over Alleged Violations of the Earn Program

The New York Department of Financial Services has reportedly launched an investigation into Gemini, alleging that the cryptocurrency exchange misled its 340,000 Earn users by telling them that their assets were FDIC-protected. The program, which provided clients up to 7.4% APY on their holdings, went down after the platform’s partner – Genesis – halted withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy. As reported by Axios, the regulator is investigating the Winklevoss-led trading venue for potentially misrepresenting the extent and manner of deposit insurance. Federal law forbids anyone from “implying that an uninsured product is FDIC–insured or from knowingly misrepresenting the extent and

Pfizer Ventures Invests in VitaDAO's Longevity Research with $4.1M Funding

2 days ago 1 min read

VitaDAO Secures $4.1M Investment from Pfizer Ventures for Longevity Studies

VitaDAO, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) focused on longevity research, has closed a $4.1 million funding round led by Pfizer Ventures. The funding round also includes contributions from Shine Capital, L1 Digital, BeakerDAO, Spaceship DAO, former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan and Retro Biosciences’ Joe Betts-LaCroix. VitaDAO was founded in 2021 with the aim of funding research into diseases of aging and cellular biology, and has deployed over $3.5 million towards these goals. The latest funds will be used to fund longevity research projects and to incubate VitaDAO’s first biotech startup. The group is governed by its native VITA token, and

Disgraced FTX founder SBF's bond co-signers

2 days ago 1 min read

$250 Million Bankman-Fried Bond Co-Signers Near Public Unveiling

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond co-signers’ names are closer to being made public after a federal judge granted a motion to unseal their names. The names of two additional signers, whose identities were previously redacted, were part of the $250 million bond co-signed by Bankman-Fried’s parents in December. A group of news organizations requested the information be made public, citing the public’s right to know, while Bankman-Fried’s lawyer argued that the co-signers could face threats and harassment. The motion is stayed until February 7, pending an appeal, and will remain in effect until Feb. 14 if the court receives

2 days ago 5 mins read

TRON Academy Sponsors Princeton Blockchain Club and Partners with TRON Climate Initiative

Geneva, Switzerland, 30th January, 2023 TRON Academy has become the official sponsor of the Princeton Blockchain Club, the premier blockchain-focused student organization at Princeton University, whose goal is to build a vibrant and diverse network for Web3 natives on campus. TRON DAO is thrilled to be engaged with such a prestigious institution and such an innovative club with a kindred focus on educating the next generation of blockchain developers. TRON Academy continues to expand its empowering presence on a growing number of college campuses, including a recent workshop at the University of California at Irvine. Blockchain at UCI is an ecosystem for blockchain education, development, and

2 days ago 1 min read

BlockFi Authorized to Organize Mining Auction

BlockFi, the bankrupt crypto lending platform, has received court approval to auction its Bitcoin mining business. The company has received bids for its assets and is expected to receive more due to favorable market conditions. BlockFi’s assets include ASICs (mining computer hardware) and the bids for these assets are due by Feb 20, with an auction to be held a week later. Bitcoin’s recent rise in price has brought Bitcoin miners back into the profit zone, making BlockFi’s ASICs more attractive to buyers. BlockFi filed for bankruptcy in November after the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research to which it

2 days ago 1 min read

Elon Musk Pushes for Twitter Payment System Based on Crypto

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has reportedly instructed his developers to build the platform’s payment system in a way that can accommodate cryptocurrencies in the future. The payments feature will initially support fiat currencies but be built to include cryptocurrencies, according to sources familiar with Twitter’s plans. Twitter has long been planning to bring payments to the platform as part of Musk’s goal to make it an “everything app.” Rumors emerged last October that Twitter was working on a wallet prototype that would support crypto deposits and withdrawals, but it appears the payment system will only support fiat currencies for now.

Bankman-Fried Bail Co-Signers to be Named, Per Judge's Decision

2 days ago 1 min read

Judge Orders Disclosure of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bail Co-Signers

A US federal judge has ruled in favor of news organizations and ordered the disclosure of the co-signers of Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail bond. Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was arrested and charged with fraud and other crimes. The judge stated that the information sought, the names of the bail co-signers, is traditionally considered public information. The judge postponed his order until February 7th to allow for a possible appeal. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had argued that revealing the identities could put the individuals at risk. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight charges, including money laundering, and his trial is

Massive stETH-to-Ethereum Swap by SBF-Associated Wallets During Market Depeg

3 days ago 1 min read

$90M in stETH Swapped for Ethereum in SBF-Linked Wallets

Blockchain security firm PeckShield identified three wallets that converted 63,860 staked Ethereum (stETH), worth approximately $90 million, to Ethereum (ETH) when the stETH/ETH peg dropped to a monthly low between May 2022 and June 2022. The three wallets withdrew stETH from FTX, swapped it for ETH, and transferred the funds back to the exchange, leading PeckShield to believe the transactions might be connected to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). Two wallets, “0x1b23” and “0x2e85,” withdrew a total of 49,000 stETH, worth $66 million, from FTX, converted it to 42,000 ETH, and returned the funds to FTX. The motive behind the

3 days ago 1 min read

UK Authority Investigates Bankman-Fried Charity’s Activities

UK Charity Commission Investigates Effective Ventures Foundation Over Risks to Assets: The Charity Commission for England and Wales is investigating the Effective Ventures Foundation, a charity backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The investigation will focus on the extent of the risk to the charity’s assets and whether the trustees are fulfilling their duties to protect them. The charity reported FTX’s bankruptcy as a “serious incident” due to the large funds it received from the exchange’s philanthropic arm. The trustees are currently cooperating fully with the inquiry, which may expand in scope if further regulatory

Brazil Gets Binance-Mastercard Crypto Card for Secure Digital Asset Access.

3 days ago 0 mins read

Binance and Mastercard Launch Prepaid Crypto Card for Brazilian Market

Binance and Mastercard have jointly launched a prepaid crypto card in Brazil, allowing users to make payments with 13 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance USD. The card has a 0.9% transaction fee, with the option of up to 8% cashback in crypto, and free ATM withdrawals. The product is currently in testing phase and will be widely available soon. A study by Mastercard showed 49% of Brazilian consumers have made at least one crypto transaction in the past year, higher than the global average of 41%. Binance has previously launched similar cards in Argentina and the European Economic Area.